The Baker and The Chef

I don't think I was ever a fussy eater as a child. I ate pretty much anything my mother made me. Okay, maybe I wasn't the best at eating my veggies, but what kid is? Spaghetti was a household favorite though. Spaghetti with butter and Parmesan. Spaghetti with oil and garlic. Spaghetti with meat sauce. I loved them all. I'm sure my mother would love to tell you how many white shirts I ruined over the years with all the spaghetti sauce stains that just wouldn't come out. My favorite has always been Spaghetti and Meatballs. As a child I would spend a weekend here and there with my grandmother. I'd go there on a Saturday, and she would have already been to the store and stocked up on all my favorites. We'd have dinner on Saturday night, and breakfast on Sunday before going to church. Saturday for dinner she'd make me a frozen spaghetti dinner and broil off some garlic toast. I'd sit with her in the living room and we'd watch some TV (she loved the Golden Girls), and I felt like a king. Hey when you're young, a Stouffer's dinner will do that to ya.

Everyone has a way of making their own meatballs. It's usually taught to us by our mothers or grandmothers and, for sentimental reasons, rarely changes over the years. I mean, you don't want to be the one in the family who breaks tradition, right? Well fortunately for me, there is no family meatball recipe. I guess that means it is up to me to start one.

Here is a recipe I came up with on the fly, which I have to say, is pretty darn good. The key to a good meatball is two-fold. First, it has to have some moisture. If you add too many bread crumbs, it will be dry and dense. The second part is the rolling of the meatballs. You don't want to over-work the mix. Roll the meatballs in your hands and try not to pack them too much. You want it to be moist, light and tender enough to be cut with a fork. It is your choice whether or not you want to simmer them in the sauce or not, but if you have the time, I would recommend it. This is a pretty large recipe, but I like to use the leftovers to make meatball sandwiches!

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About Us

As kids we both had a love of food and grew up watching Julia Child while all our friends were watching Sesame Street. We both decided to go to culinary school where we met, married and had three kids. Now he's an executive chef and I'm a stay at home mom spending part of each day working on the bakery I'll someday open.